The UN could launch an international currency dedicated to cooling the Earth and feeding people. We could call it "The Crocus".

Principle: the money supply is indexed to the «healthy living biomass of the land surface» (i.e. apart from the ocean's biomass which is too hard to evaluate).

What is meant by "healthy biomass”? Traditional small-scale farming, agroecology, agroforestry, permaculture, all the natural surroundings. Neither GMO, nor industrial agriculture or factory farming or hydroponic cultivation. As a result, the more healthy vegetation is grown (permaculture is used, trees are planted, soils are regenerated, natural lands and forests are preserved), the more the money supply is increased.

By implementing this tool, we could go towards a greener and fairer world simply by joining together soil enrichment and a global complementary currency. The crocus would be a powerful tool for simultaneously tackling climate change and feeding people, because its role is to: - enrich soils, increase vegetation and biodiversity, - capture CO₂, reduce the greenhouse effect and tackle global warming, - preserve freshwater and the major balances (carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus cycles...), - feed all living beings. At the same time, it would provide people with a lot of valuable jobs for a meaningful life.

How does it work concretely?

When living biomass grows, the money supply is increased in the same proportion (it would be the role of the OMF Organic Monetary Fund, created for this purpose). Every year, each country involved in the project receives crocuses, depending on the increase of its healthy living biomass as evidenced by the scientific community. And then the crocuses are directly awarded by the government. To whom? Only to individuals: to small farmers of course, and also to all agricultural employees, provided that they really grow food in an ecological way. This way, creating biomass becomes a source of additional income for those who feed the world in a sustainable manner. Forest rangers and field scientists are also recipients of crocuses. Only these people have the right to exchange the crocus currency either with the national currency or with a local complementary currency. The exchange rate is set by the UN, so that this money cannot give rise to speculation.

Actually, the Crocus would be a «universal incentive to heal the Earth» and a powerful tool for solving many of the problems that our species is facing: hunger, health, unemployment, biodiversity and environmental collapses.

As regards climate change, such a project would make it possible to act now, without waiting for the agreement reached by the COP 21 to start producing effects.

See: The shortest way to a soft and smart revolution: the Crocus Currency! https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BygD7EaNYj4LejRVOEVrQ2xlc1E

- Natural ecosystems along with the rich and diverse agro-ecosystems provide services in abundance,

- Human effort then is to work with nature and not against it,

- in doing so, healthy living biomass increases, has a moderating effect on climate, provides food and an additional income in the form of crocuses.

This parallel currency system is the way to valuing nature rather than destroying it. As nature’s generosity generates money, people have a vested interest in protecting and cultivating it in an environmentally friendly way. That would be the exact opposite of the current deadly industrial agriculture.

This is how this principle could be summarized: "With the Crocus it’s the money that is bought by nature and not nature that is bought by money"

Allowing humanity to ally with the power of Life, the crocus would be a really virtuous currency.

Don't you think this idea deserves consideration? Shouldn't it be quickly promoted worldwide?

Because it is terribly urgent, why not suggest it to the IPCC? To the UN ?

Hélène Nivoix

(helene.nivoix@laposte.netI live in Besançon, near Switzerland. I hold a degree in Natural Sciences. See https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BygD7EaNYj4LRWtiTzMyQkEtUWs)